The benefit packages of lower-cost bronze and silver-level health plans — sold through the state's health insurance exchange — aren't as expensive as they might seem at first, they say.

Carolina Coleman, the project's research director, and John Connolly, the nonprofit's deputy director, say that many consumers who focus only on their high deductibles may be missing some gems hidden in their existing policies.

...With out-of-pocket costs rising, Weinberg of the Bay Area Council says, patients need to take a more active role in navigating their benefits.

"People will come into the doctor's office with pages of printouts from WebMD about what condition they think they have. If consumers are doing that much to educate themselves about their potential condition, they should also do something to educate themselves on their benefits and be armed with that information when you go to the doctor," he says.